A Family Divided (Dividing Line #3) (26 page)

Ryan took a deep breath before replying, hoping his voice didn
’t betray his anger. “Yes. She’s just finishing up some paperwork.”

“
How’s she been lately?”

The concern in his tone enraged Ryan because he knew it was fake.
“Much better.”

“
She’s so strong, she can get over anything,” replied Alex.

Ryan was grateful for his poker playing skills because it took everything he had to keep his rage inside.
“She’ll never get over losing Thomas, neither of us will. It would help if we could find the coward who hurt a pregnant woman. She told me she remembered sitting at those traffic lights feeling really angry about something, but she just can’t recall what that was. I’m sure she will soon, things are starting to come back to her.”

Alex blinked twice rapidly. It was a small tell but Ryan was quick to spot it, confirming his theory. Rachel and Alex had quarrelled the day of the accident and Alex had threatened her. What would he have done if she hadn
’t had her taser? Would he have hit her, beaten her? Despite how tough Rachel was, Alex would have won. In a strange way Ryan was glad of The Slasher - or should he say his brother - because he’d scared her into carrying the weapon again. Alex held Ryan’s gaze, the others detecting the frosty atmosphere between the two men.

“
We’re booked on your zombie apocalypse next week,” said Declan in an attempt to break the awkward moment, for which everyone was grateful.

“
Oh yes?” replied Ryan, reclining back in his seat and taking a sip of orange juice.

“
Yeah, me and Mikey. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

“
Zombie Apocalypse,” snorted Alex. “What a load of sh…”

“
Language Alex,” chided Martina, “Remember the children?”

“
You don’t approve?” Ryan asked him, voice dripping ice.

“
It’s a bit bloody daft, isn’t it? Grown men running around with plastic guns pretending to shoot a bunch of idiots in Halloween costumes?”

Ryan arched a disdainful eyebrow.
“Better that than real guns.”

Alex
’s smile fell and he glared at him.

It was Beth
’s turn to break the next awkward silence. “Alex, could you pass me Holly’s bottle out of the changing bag? It’s time for her feed.”

The room felt to breathe another collective sigh of relief as he got up and walked over to the bag sitting in the corner of the room.

“So, you think you can beat my zombies?” Ryan playfully asked Declan and Mikey, keeping one eye on Alex.

“
Yep, we’ll make great zombie crashers,” said an enthusiastic Declan.

“
It’s zombie bashers, numb nuts,” grinned Mikey.

“
Crashers would work too, wouldn’t it Ryan?” said Declan.

“
No.”

“
Oh.”

Alex walked directly in front of Ryan to hand Beth the bottle and once again the two men
’s eyes locked, the loathing reflected in each other’s gazes. Jez looked at his brother and frowned, appearing very concerned by this turn of events but Ryan shook his head.

“
Later,” he said quietly before taking another sip of orange juice.

Rachel hung up after her phone call with Ryan praying what he had to tell her was good news. She’d had her fill of bad. Although she hadn’t got through everything she wanted to, she decided to leave the rest of the paperwork and head over to Martina’s. She was tired and just wanted to have fun with her family.

“
Go on, get yourself off. I’ll lock up,” she told her general manager.

Amanda tried not to look too delighted.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying.”

“
I know you’ve got a hot date. Go and enjoy yourself.”

“
Thanks. Sure you’ll be alright on your own?”

“
Fine, I’m almost done.”

After Amanda had gone, Rachel locked up her office then walked through the spa, turning off the lights and ensuring everything was locked up tight.

As she stepped outside into the car park the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she got the feeling someone was watching her. Glancing around she could see nothing and no one, her car sitting alone, the vacant lot suddenly menacing.

She picked up the pace, pulling the keys from her pocket, the only sound her high heels clicking off the tarmac. Just as she reached her car two large shapes leapt out from behind it. With a startled scream she lashed out, jabbing the car key into the face of one of the attackers and punching the other in the stomach. The keys slipped from her hand and disappeared from sight under the car. Rachel ran, pulling her mobile phone out of her jacket pocket.

“
Where’s Rachel? She should have been here by now. The food’s almost ready,” said Martina, emerging from the kitchen, her hands encased in oven gloves.

“
She’ll be here any minute,” replied Ryan, bouncing Aaron on his knee. “You know Rachel, she never misses one of your roasts.”

“
Shall I dish up then?”

“
I’ll give her a call, just to check she’s left.”

As he pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket it rang in his hand.
“That’s her.” He pressed answer. “Hello Sweetheart, are you on your way? Martina’s…”

They all stopped to listen as he abruptly went silent.
“Just hang on, we’re on our way.”

He hung up and passed Aaron to Cathy.
“Take him, we’ve got to go.”

“
What’s happening?” said Martina.

“
Someone’s trying to kidnap Rachel, she’s hiding in the bushes outside the spa,” he said, snatching up his car keys, grateful that Leah was playing upstairs with Alfie.

“
Jesus, we’ll come too,” said Alex.

Ryan experienced a moment of indecision. For all he knew this could be Alex
’s doing, but if it wasn’t then it meant he could be innocent of the car accident. He hated accepting help from him but he had no choice.

“
Alright, let’s go,” said Ryan.

Leaving the children with the women, the men rushed out of the house and into Ryan
’s car.

Rachel slid her phone back into her jacket pocket and watched from behind one of the bushes in the spa grounds, taser in hand, as the two figures scanned the surrounding area. She saw one talking into his mobile phone but couldn’t catch what he was saying, she was too far away. She didn’t dare move or breathe and prayed Ryan hurried up.

A minute later the two figures were joined by two more, pulling up in a large black van. Who the hell were they and what did they want with her? She hadn
’t pissed anyone off in ages, except for Stephen Strang but he didn’t have the balls to abduct her. What would it achieve anyway? Was he going to hold her hostage until she signed over their businesses? No, she couldn’t see it.

A rustling behind her drew her attention and she just managed to roll out of the way as a fist came hurtling towards her. She jammed the end of the taser into her assailants leg. There was a loud crackle and the figure jumped and jerked before dropping to the ground with a loud groan. Shouts filled the air as the others spotted her and she scrambled to her feet and ran, disorientated in the gathering darkness, not sure where she was going. A terrific crashing behind her told her she was being chased and she tried to keep cool and not give way to the panic threatening to engulf her. She heard a car approaching and prayed it was Ryan. Abruptly she veered off towards the sound, crashing out of the undergrowth to find herself at the far end of the car park. Looking up the road she could see Ryan
’s car with its doors hanging open abandoned at the barrier. He probably didn’t have his pass key on him. Ryan himself was charging towards her, followed by Alex, Mikey, Declan and Jez.

“
Ryan,” she screamed.

The sight of him was blocked out by the big black van, which screeched to a halt between them. The doors opened and a figure lunged out at her, trying to grab her. She dodged to the side but strong arms wrapped themselves around her from behind and lifted her bodily. Throwing back her head she felt it connect with something. There was a thud and a groan and she was dropped to the ground. But before she could get back up, more of the black-clad figures surrounded her and she was picked up and thrown into the van. The other figures jumped in after her, the door slid shut and they were off, the momentum of the van causing them all to slide about the metal floor. She fought furiously as they pinned her down and tried to bind and gag her. Kicking out, she caught the one holding the masking tape in the crotch and he released a squeal before falling to his knees.

“Ryan,” she screamed again, a punch to the face silencing her. Then the tape was hastily slapped over her mouth and she was thrown onto her front and her hands bound behind her.

“
Rachel,” bellowed Ryan, trying to keep up with the van as it sped away. It exited the car park, turned right and disappeared into the night. Still he didn’t give up, trying to see which way it went but it simply vanished.

“
No,” he cried, sinking to his knees, sweat pouring off him.

The others reached him a few seconds later and slowed to a stop, Mikey hardly out of breath while Alex, Declan and Jez doubled over, gasping.

“Did you see who took her?” said Mikey.

“
No, they were wearing black masks.” Ryan leapt to his feet. “Who the fuck would do this?”

“
Take it easy, we’ll get her back,” said Alex.

“
Your pictures have been all over the local papers. Maybe this is a ransom?” said Declan.

“
Did you see a number plate?” said Alex.

“
There wasn’t one,” replied Ryan, feeling like he’d been hit by something big and hard all over again.

“
Fuck,” yelled Mikey.

“
They could have easily killed her back there but they didn’t. They want her alive,” said Alex. “It’s a start. No doubt we’re going to get a phone call very soon. Let’s go back to Mum’s and wait.”

Ryan was incensed.
“We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”

“
What do you suggest? We’ve no idea who took her, no licence plate, no ID’s, nothing.”

Ryan let them lead him back to the car in a daze, wondering if this was all some horrible nightmare. He could still hear her screaming in his head, calling for him.

CHAPTER 22

Rachel had a horrible taste in her mouth, something fetid and metallic and her head throbbed. She concentrated on flexing her muscles, testing her limbs, checking if anything was broken but she could move everything, albeit only slightly because of the bonds tethering her wrists and ankles.

“
I think she’s waking up,” said a voice.

Slowly her eyes flickered open and the faces bending over her were blurred. She blinked several times to clear her vision and found herself staring up into Jan Jordan
’s hard face. Gathered around her were Nick and Chris - the pair she’d met at the meeting - and five other similar looking men, obviously all Jan’s sons and nephews ranged together.

“
Hello Rachel,” smiled Jan humourlessly. “I do apologise for all this but you really left us no choice.”

Chris tore the tape from her mouth none too gently, disappointed when she didn
’t cry out in pain. She was the one he’d tasered and he wanted payback.

“
What are you doing here?” said Rachel, her mouth feeling like it was full of fluff. She would have killed for a drink of water. “I thought you were in Liverpool?”

“
We were, briefly. I didn’t want it to come to this but Alex Maguire left us no choice.” Jan looked to Chris. “Untie her.”

Rachel watched him steadily, heart beating hard as he pulled a knife from his pocket. Then he knelt before her and cut the tape binding her wrists and ankles. After rubbing them to restore the feeling, she slowly got to her feet and saw she was in a dingy but spacious cellar, a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling casting strange shadows on the walls. The men all regarded her murderously, except Nick, who was wearing his poker face.

“Sit down,” said Jan genially, indicating two wooden chairs facing each other. Rachel took one and Jan the other. Glancing around the room, Rachel saw some sights that made her distinctly nervous; what appeared to be an operating table and a steel tray bearing various surgical implements as well as a barrel full of water. This didn’t look good.

“
You’re going to use me as leverage to get what you want?” said Rachel, trying to ignore the torture chamber at the far side of the room.

“
Yes. I don’t like doing this, especially not to another woman, but Alex has left me no choice,” replied Jan.

“
He won’t give in to blackmail.”

“
He will when I start cutting pieces off you and sending them to him.”

She swallowed hard.
“No he won’t. You kill me and he’ll come at you with everything he’s got, which is considerable. You’ll be crushed, there’s only eight of you.”

“
Actually there’s considerably more than that. We have backing, powerful backing. He takes on us he takes on Liverpool and Newcastle too.”

Rachel regarded her thoughtfully with her head cocked on one side.
“This is about Frankie McVay, isn’t it?” She noticed Jan swallow hard at the mention of his name.

“
What makes you say that?”

“
He has business that takes him down south, and we all know how much he hates going down south. Then you lot suddenly come up here shouting the odds, demanding things that aren’t yours and Manchester is one of his main distribution lines. You think you can seize it and Frankie will come into line with whatever you want. With Liverpool and Newcastle behind you, you’ll have the whole country sewn up. Well let me tell you, that’s too much for anyone. Greed will only set you up for a fall and Alex and Frankie will kill you.”

Jan lit up a cigarette and blew the smoke into her face.
“We’ll see.”

A thought occurred to Rachel that blew all caution from her mind.
“Were you responsible for the car crash that made me lose my baby? Was that an abduction attempt gone wrong?”

“
Chris was driving,” Jan said, nodding in her nephew’s direction while blowing a stream of smoke from her nose, reminding Rachel of a dragon. “He had orders to sideswipe the front of your car but he hit the accelerator too hard and ploughed into the side of you. I admit it did go wrong.”

Rachel
’s face was as hard as stone. “You killed my son.”

“
It was an accident.”

“
Did you know I was pregnant before you sent your dogs after me?”

Jan said nothing, a smile playing on her lips.

“Did you know?” yelled Rachel.

Jan blew another stream of smoke into her face.
“Yes.”

Rachel snapped and launched herself at Jan, knocking her to the floor.

“Bitch, I’ll fucking kill you,” screamed Rachel, punching her hard in the face.

It took three men to drag her off and Jan staggered to her feet, blood trickling from her lip.

“Hold her still for Christ’s sake,” she told her men as Rachel struggled against them.

Arms like iron held Rachel still as Jan drew back her fist and punched her. Rachel hardly felt it. In comparison to what she
’d had in the past it was nothing.

“
You call that a punch? Pathetic,” spat Rachel. “You fight like a girl. This is how you fight like a man.”

She head butted Chris, who was stood before her grinning, and he dropped for the second time that day.

“You Goddamn bitch,” he mumbled, picking himself back up.

“
Strap her to the table, I want her husband to hear what she’s going through when I make the call,” said Jan, dabbing at her bleeding lip.

“
About time,” said Chris gleefully.

They dragged Rachel to the table and strapped her to it, face up. Jan produced Rachel
’s mobile phone that she’d taken from her. As she started to dial a cloth was held over Rachel’s face and water poured over it.

Ryan, Alex, Declan, Jez and Mikey returned to Martina’s house completely dejected. Battler and Bruiser were already there, Alex having sent them over to guard the women and children.

Martina greeted them at the front door.
“Well?”

“
We were too late, they took her,” said Alex.

“
Oh Jesus. Who did?”

“
We don’t know.”

“
Get yourselves inside. Cathy and Beth have taken the kids upstairs to play, they don’t know anything about this.”

“
Thank God,” said Alex as they all walked inside, Battler peering outside to make sure no one had followed them before closing the door and locking it.

When Ryan
’s phone rang he frantically fumbled for it. “It’s Rachel’s number.”

“
Put it on speakerphone,” said Alex.

He placed the phone on the coffee table and they all gathered round it as he pressed the answer key. The first thing they were greeted with were spluttering, choking noises followed by a scream.

“Rachel,” yelled Ryan.

“
You hear that? It’s the sound of your wife drowning,” drawled a female voice.

“
Jan Jordan? You fucking slag, you’re dead,” Alex hissed at the phone.

“
I wouldn’t be talking like that, not if you want to see Rachel alive again.”

“
Leave her alone, she’s fuck all to do with this,” said Ryan, voice tight with anger and fear.

“
To show you I’m not all bad, I’ll let you speak to her.”

There was silence followed by Rachel
’s voice saying, “Ryan, call Frankie,” then more trickling of water and a muffled cry.

“
Rachel,” bellowed Ryan, slamming his fist down on the table, making the phone jump.

Jan came back on the line.
“Give us what we want and we’ll let her go. If you don’t then we’ll really go to work on her. Chris has got a nice collection of surgical implements he’s dying to try out.”

“
You evil old hag, you touch her and I will fucking kill you,” said Ryan.

Alex put a restraining hand on his arm.
“What do you want?”

“
Things have changed Alex. You should have taken my first offer. Now I want you in exchange for Rachel, plain and simple. Come alone and I release her unharmed. If you don’t then Chris will open her up while she’s still awake and start removing her internal organs. Your choice. I’ll call you back in one hour when I hope you’ll have a decision.” Then the line went dead.

“
Oh my God,” whispered Martina, tears in her eyes.

“
You have to go to them,” Ryan told Alex.

“
If he goes they’ll kill him and Rachel,” said Martina, unable to face the prospect of losing her one remaining son. “You can’t serve him up like that.”

“
If he doesn’t then they’ll gut Rachel alive. I told you not to involve her and now look what’s happened, all because she wanted to help. You fucker.”

Ryan punched Alex in the face and Alex shoved him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. When Ryan went for him again Battler and Bruiser got between the pair of them.

“This isn’t helping anybody,” said Mikey. “We need to work together to get her back.”

“
We’ll get her back if Alex goes to them, but he’s too fucking cowardly. Instead he gets women to do his dirty work for him,” snarled Ryan.

“
They won’t let Rachel go in exchange for Alex and you know it. Obviously they think she’s still a power in the family and they want to take out both leaders at once in the hope they’ll be able to take everything over.” Mikey frowned thoughtfully. “Rachel said to call Frankie. Maybe this is something to do with him?”

“
I don’t want to involve him,” said Alex.

“
Tough shit, he’s already involved,” said Ryan. “Call him or I fucking will.”

Alex held up his hands.
“Alright.”

Ryan stood nose to nose with Alex.
“Once we’ve got Rachel back me and her are done with the lot of you. Everything bad that’s happened to her is down to your family and I’ve had enough. Fucking Maguires,” he muttered before kicking open the kitchen door and stomping outside into the back garden.

“
Give him time to calm down,” said Jez, looking embarrassed.

“
The sad thing is, he’s right,” said Martina quietly.

“
I’ll call Frankie,” said Alex, casting a glare at Ryan’s retreating back.

Nick watched Rachel being water boarded from the corner of the room with a frown. He didn’t like violence on women but only he seemed to hold this opinion. While his mother chain-smoked in the corner of the room his brother and cousins egged on Chris, who was clearly enjoying torturing her. When he saw his younger cousin Stuart slide his hand inside her skirt Nick slapped it away.

“
What the fuck’s wrong with you?”

“
This isn’t who we are,” said Nick. “Dad would have a fit if he could see this.”

“
She’s not an ordinary woman, she’s one of us.”

“
This is cowardly and beneath us.”

“
Tell it to your mum, she’s the one ordering us to do it.”

“
You touch Rachel like that again and I’ll knock you out. Chris, that’s enough.”

“
I’m just getting warmed up.”

“
I said that’s enough. We don’t want to kill her.”

“
Not yet anyway, eh boys?” he grinned. “We can have a lot of fun with this one.”

Once Nick was satisfied they weren
’t going to attack Rachel, he approached his mother.

“
What are we doing Mum?”

“
We’re getting our family back on top, where we belong.”

“
Not like this,” he said, gesturing to Rachel gasping for breath on the table while the men sniggered, pointed and made disgusting comments.

“
Don’t feel sorry for her, she’s ordered that done to people herself. She knew what she was getting into when she took power in a man’s world. Would it be so bad if it was Alex Maguire strapped to that table?”

“
No because that lot wouldn’t be threatening to rape him.”

“
If that’s what it takes to get what we want then so be it. The Laws wield as much power as the Maguires and one of them is her husband. I’m sure if we sent him a video of her being violated Ryan would bring Alex to us.”

Nick was appalled.
“I can’t believe you’re talking like this. What do you think Dad would make of it?”

“
Your dad lost his nerve, that’s why he got killed.”

“
He had honour. What will all the other families say when they learn what we’ve done to a woman and not any woman but Rachel Law, who is highly respected? Do Liverpool and Newcastle even know what you’re doing?”